Music Star Susie Tallman Of Rock Me Baby Records On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Music Industry

An Interview With Guernslye Honoré

I wish I had done more networking when I first started. There are many children’s music organizations to be a part of and maybe because I was also a working mom, I didn’t take the time to research and find them. I am now a part of the Children’s Music Network which is a wonderful organization that helps children’s music teachers and children’s musicians.

As a part of our interview series with leaders, stars, and rising stars in the music industry, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Susie Tallman.

Susie Tallman is an award-winning children’s artist and her tenth album, Let’s All Sing! is set for release on November 3, 2023.

With a B.A. in vocal performance from UCLA in her hip pocket, Susie Tallman secured a job in the music business at A&M Studios with renowned producer Jimmy Iovine. She subsequently moved with Jimmy to start Interscope Records as one of its founding employees. While at Interscope, Susie production-coordinated albums for Tracy Chapman, Robin Zander, Tom Jones, NIN, and A Very Special Christmas, as well as singing backup on records by Ronnie Spector, Darlene Love, and Cheap Trick.

Yearning to live and study abroad, Susie traveled to Paris for advanced vocal training, where she sang with the Choeur International and the American Chorus. Her next move found her studying classical voice at the New England Conservatory of Music and working at the extraordinary indie label Q Division Records. Susie’s many performance credits include such venues as Carnegie Hall, the Rose Bowl, the Los Angeles Forum, and Pauley Pavilion. Her studio work includes commercials for Taco Bell, Coca-Cola, and the movie Beaches. Several PBS stations around the US play short versions of Susie’s videos as interstitials between kids’ shows.

Susie’s love of choral singing led her to perform with the New Mexico Symphony Chorus and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. In San Francisco, Susie sang under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas on the Symphony’s legendary recording of three works by Igor Stravinsky, which won what the Los Angeles Times called “a classical Grammy triple-whammy” in 2000.

Now living with her family in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Susie is busy raising three children, two dogs, thirteen chickens and 150,000 bees while recording, teaching, and singing in the choral group Coro Lux.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit about your “origin story”. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

Thank you for having me today. I grew up in Riverside, California, outside of Los Angeles in a musical family that spanned three generations. My grandparents, great aunt and parents were always at the piano, so we spent a lot of time singing together for fun. We also spent a lot of time outdoors, camping and hiking as well as quite a bit of time at our local church, so pretty much all our activities included family time and singing — whether it was around a campfire or in a choir loft.

What inspired you to pursue a career in music, and how did your journey begin?

Music brings happiness, to yourself and others. It is a unifying force. To me, a career in music was an opportunity to do something I loved that would make the world a brighter place and something that would bring people together. So, I went to UCLA to study music. While at UCLA, I had some great singing opportunities such as soloing the National Anthem at UCLA football games and traveling to Australia with the UCLA chamber singers to sing at the Sydney Opera House. I graduated university wanting to continue be around musicians, so I got a job at A&M Records where I had the opportunity to work with artists like Cheap Trick, Tracy Chapman, A Very Special Christmas albums and so many more. I left A&M Records with Jimmy Iovine and a few others to help start Interscope Records. In the process, I learned the business side of music. Being at the front end of Interscope Records provided me with the background I needed to later start my own record label, Rock Me Baby Records.

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

It is hard to answer that question because I have had so many. One of the best experiences I’ve had was touring with the great Tom Jones. I was Tom’s project manager, and I was able to go to England, Russia, Germany and many other places with Tom. One year Tom was the host of the MTV Awards in Europe, and the entire trip was surreal from the makeshift venue at The Brandenburg Gates to dancing the night before the awards with the musician Robbie Williams who wasn’t yet famous in the United States. Finally, the next day was the award ceremony and afterwards a few of us went to a tiny club in Berlin and saw Prince perform a three-hour show and I got to sit next to Elton John. An amazing weekend to say the least.

It has been said that sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Mistakes can be wonderful teachers and I have made my share. Not sure if these mistakes are funny and I surely didn’t laugh at the time but, when I was working at Interscope Records as a project manager I sent the entire US radio market a Nine Inch Nails song for radio airplay, cleared by the artist, and it was the wrong version. Unfortunately, I had to go back and re-send the corrected version that the record company preferred, to all the radio stations. What I learned from that is that is more important to slow down and be as close to perfect as possible than to go fast and make mistakes while you are in a rush. Nonetheless, I got lucky when I made this mistake because the version I mistakenly sent out was the version the artist wanted (even though the radio team did not).

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I had the great opportunity to work with the record producer Jimmy Iovine in the beginning of my career and learned an enormous amount from him. Jimmy taught me to work very hard, to follow your gut and to always be true to yourself as a person and artist. He always said he would follow someone to the end of the earth if they believed in themselves — he always let the artists do what they did best and didn’t try to step in and change them. I have found that advice extremely helpful in my career as a children’s artist. I try my very best to make joyful music that makes kids and their parents want to sing together. Some of my greatest successes have been the result of listening to my gut rather than following conventional wisdom. Music is a creative process, and its development depends on the willingness of artists to tap into their creativity, believe in themselves, and try something new and unconventional.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

I just finished my tenth studio album called “Let’s All Sing” which has been an absolute joy to create. I collaborated with some of my favorite children’s musicians including Scott K Durbin from The Imagination Movers, Suzi Shelton and Vivian Fang Liu along with my very good friend Greg O’Connor who co-wrote, performed and produced with me. This album consists of 16 tracks of original and traditional songs, many of which I sang with my family as a child. I hope those songs will bring to others the same happiness and love of music that they brought to me when I was a child.

We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in music, film, and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?

It is very important for every child to see reflections of themselves in music, film, and television. Children come in all shapes, sizes and colors and music should appeal to all of them equally. That can’t happen if kids can’t feel part of the music they are listening to. Music has the potential to be a tremendous unifying force. But, to realize that potential, the music must be inclusive. I want kids of all backgrounds to be able to share in the joy of music. I want them all to find a moment of escape through music. I’m hopeful that the music I make can reach a diverse group of children, bring them all joy, and then have that joy link them together.

As a successful music star, you’ve likely faced challenges along the way. How do you stay motivated? How do you overcome obstacles in your career?

I think music star is a bit of a stretch but, yes, like almost all musicians, I have faced challenges along my way. Not every song a musician writes or sings is going to be successful. And, even a musician’s most successful songs are not going to appeal to everyone. Sometimes, the songs I like the best are not the ones that take off. Sometimes songs I love receive criticism. When you are proud of something and want everyone to love your work, it hurts when someone is critical of that work. But I have learned that in this era of social media, every artist is going to have a critic and that, while I might be able to learn something from criticism, I can’t let it get me down. I stay motivated and overcome the negative feelings that criticism brings by doing what I love. I know who I’m making music for and that is wonderful motivation. Seeing kids light up when they get to jump on stage and hold a puppet, smiling their biggest smile to their parent or grandparent is motivation. Equally, hearing from parents in neo natal intensive care units that played my lullabies and tell me that my songs helped their baby get released sooner is much more powerful than a handful of negative comments. I want to have a positive impact on people’s lives and when I hear something like I had a positive impact on the life of a struggling infant, it motivates me to make more music. In short, I overcome challenges by staying positive, taking constructive criticism constructively, and by moving forward with good energy. If I see an obstacle in my path ahead, I try to look at the obstacle as a challenge I can overcome and that, having overcome it, will only make me better.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why?

1 . I wish I had done more networking when I first started. There are many children’s music organizations to be a part of and maybe because I was also a working mom, I didn’t take the time to research and find them. I am now a part of the Children’s Music Network which is a wonderful organization that helps children’s music teachers and children’s musicians.

2 . It would have been nice to have known there were industry experts in the children’s field and that I should have had them as part of my team. For example, hiring a publicist would have been a game changer for me as an artist at any point in my career. I have finally started working with a publicist, but it took a bit too long for me to realize the importance of expert assistance.

3 . It is important to know that sharing your craft is enough.

4 . Don’t worry about what others think, how you feel about yourself is most important.

5 . Embrace change because it is going to happen.

Can you share some insights into your creative process? How do you approach songwriting? How do you approach musical collaborations?

I often start the creative process by taking long walks by the river with song ideas in my head. I like to think of rhythms while walking through leaves or on trails, as I find inspiration in nature. I always have my recorder handy to record ideas and when I get home I start working on the songs. With this last record I found inspiration while waiting for my son to finish soccer practice as I was thinking about cooking dinner. I thought of “Pizza Pasta Opera” because I was so hungry! As far as collaborations, I am very fortunate to have worked on this album with Greg O’Connor, a long-time musician friend from Melbourne, Australia. We have worked together on many projects, but he was excited to collaborate on this one with me as a producer, and it was a fantastic experience. Like I mentioned above I was lucky enough to collaborate with some wonderful children’s artists. The children’s community is very supportive of each other, so it was a delight to be able to work with some of my favorite family musicians.

Your music has resonated with so many fans worldwide. What do you believe sets your music apart?

I am still singing the same types of songs I sang when I first started. I try to stay focused on what I think kids will enjoy.

How do you connect with your audience?

I have found that energy is contagious, whether positive or negative. Humans have a natural pull to positive energy, so I try to feed my audience that positive energy. I use all the opportunities we are all now given, with YouTube and the many different streaming and social media platforms. I am grateful that technology has given more children and artists the chance to be exposed to quality children’s music and programing.

With your busy schedule and demanding performances, how do you prioritize self-care and maintain a balance between your personal life and career in the music industry?

Maybe, fortunately for me, there is a connection. The most important things in my personal life are my kids and my connection with nature. Music reflects these priorities. Time with my kids has been like research for my songs. They give me ideas. They have provided a test group. That being said, as every parent knows, kids take time. There was a period of several years where I collected ideas but did not put out a new album because I was busy with my family and my family came first.

Now that my kids are older it is easier to make more time for me, whatever that looks like.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

It isn’t new and it isn’t a movement, it has been in families for centuries, but I would like to see the love of family through song and music continue, especially in our new world filled with technology. When a parent sings a lullaby to a newborn, that is pure love. I think it would be fulfilling for all of us to know that parents are singing and being present with their child as long as possible — never stop trying to connect to your kids through music.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

I’m limited to the US or the world?!? I would want an inter galactic dinner, thank you. But really, for me, I think it’s better not to meet people you idolize. Sometimes those whom you idolize end up being just normal people. It’s their presented character that inspires you, so maybe it’s best to just hold on to that. However, if I could choose one person to sit down and enjoy a meal with, I would love to sit down with my dad, who passed away almost two years ago.

How can our readers continue to follow your work online?

Thank you for asking! If someone would like to follow me, please follow on YouTube @Susie Tallman, on instagram @susietallmanmusic, Facebook @susietallmanandfriends and listen to my music on Spotify, Amazon Music, iTunes, Tidal or their favorite streaming service. My website is www.susietallman.com

This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!

About the interviewer: Guernslye Honoré, affectionately known as “Gee-Gee”, is an amalgamation of creativity, vision, and endless enthusiasm. She has elegantly twined the worlds of writing, acting, and digital marketing into an inspiring tapestry of achievement. As the creative genius at the heart of Esma Marketing & Publishing, she leads her team to unprecedented heights with her comprehensive understanding of the industry and her innate flair for innovation. Her boundless passion and sense of purpose radiate from every endeavor she undertakes, turning ideas into reality and creating a realm of infinite possibilities. A true dynamo, Gee-Gee’s name has become synonymous with inspirational leadership and the art of creating success.